Anyone Else But You
by tutorgirl25
Summary: 17 years later. The five kids are now in their mid-30's and most of them are happy and content. But what happens when a past love shows up in one girl's perfect life? Does she let him in again? Or remember how much he hurt her.


Brooke Davis opened her eyes, looking into the bright shafts of yellow light from the living room that spilled across the hardwood floor. She rolled out of bed and slipped into her silk robe before walking out of her bedroom and downstairs into her kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked quietly down the hallway into another room, pushing the door open "Ryan, sweetie, time to get up." She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, brushing the hair out of the young boy's face "Are you gonna get up?" she asked with a smile. The young boy nodded and Brooke kissed him on the forehead "Okay, I'll be in the kitchen." She said, standing up and walking back out the door.

Brooke Davis has lives in a 4 bedroom penthouse on 5th Avenue in the Upper East side. She owns one of the biggest fashion companies in the world and loves her job. Well, she tries to persuade everyone she does. She is always in New York City though, making her mother go on all of the business trips for her. Brooke would never leave her little boy with a nanny while she was selling clothes around the world.

"Ryan!" Brooke called about 15 minutes after waking her son up "Are you ready for school?"

Ryan ran out into the kitchen "Yep!" he said cheerfully as he finished tying his tie.

"You're getting good at that, Ry." Brooke said, watching as her son tugged his tie.

"I've been practicing." He told her as she handed him his lunch.

"Do you want me to drive you to school?" Brooke asked, fixing Ryan's collar "It's pretty cold out."

Ryan shook his head "No thanks. I can walk."

Brooke looked at the time "Well you better get going than.."

Ryan gave his mom a hug goodbye "Okay, I'll see you after school. I love you."

"I love you too Ry." Brooke said, kissing the top of his head "Have a good day."

"You too." Ryan said, walking out the front door.

Brooke walked over to the huge glass window overlooking the busy street. Ryan has yet to figure out that Brooke watches him walk down the street to school everyday, just to make sure he gets there safe. She's a little less protective in the afternoon, because he usually walks home with his friends. She should be considering he's 13 years old.

Brooke sighed, figuring she may as well get her day started. She walked upstairs and into her walk in closet, picking out a pair of designer jeans and a black Vera Wang top with silver flats.

Brooke sighed when her Blackberry rang "Hello?" she answered, putting the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"Brooke, you're already late." The woman snapped into the phone.

"Mother, I'll be there in 10 minutes." She said irritably, putting her hair into a nice barrette and grabbing her jacket and gloves before walking out the door.

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She laughed as his arms wrapped around her waist, kissing her neck softly.

"Happy anniversary." He whispered in her ear.

"Happy anniversary." She whispered back, turning to face him.

Nathan pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to his wife.

"What's this?" she asked happily, looking like a 5 year old at Christmas.

"Open it." He said, wanting to see the reaction on her face.

She lifted the top of the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh Nathan." She gushed, hugging his tight "It's beautiful!"

He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her "Just wait until tonight." He said, walking over to the coffee pot.

"Oh I can't wait." She said back.

"Hey, only child right here." Jimmy said, trying to get the horrible image out of his head.

Haley laughed "Sorry Jimbo."

Nathan turned to his son "You are sleeping at Peter's house tonight though, right?" he asked as he threw Jimmy a bagel.

Jimmy shook his head "Ew, yes." He jumped off the chair and grabbed his backpack "I'm going to school now."

Haley walked over to her son, who was 8 inches taller than she was "Have a good day at school."

"Thank Ma. Love you. Bye Dad." Jimmy said with a smile, walking out the back door.

"I have to get to work too." Nathan said, hugging his wife one last time "You wanna meet at the café for lunch?"

"Yea, 12:00?" Haley asked.

"Sounds good. Love you Hales." He told her as she acknowledged the ring on her finger.

"Always and forever."

Haley watched as her husband walked out the door. She walked over to the picture wall in the living room and looked at the family picture. She really did have a wonderful life. She has a wonderful husband and a smart, kind, and funny 17 year old boy. She hoped that the news she had for them wouldn't change her happy family.

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Ryan said goodbye to his friends after school that day, but instead of walking down the street to his penthouse, he ran across 5th avenue and walked a while before stopping at Barnes and Noble. Hoping he wasn't too late, he ran inside and up to the third floor. There weren't many people there, but there was one person he needed to find. His mother's birthday was in a few days and he thought she'd like it if he got her favorite book signed by the author. He never really asked what the book was about, and never bothered to read some of it. He just knew that his mother read this book over 5 times and always keeps it on her night table.

"Excuse me?" Ryan walked up to a big man who must have been a security guard "Is the author of this book still here?" he asked, showing the man the book.

"Sorry kid, he's on his way out." The security guard told Ryan.

Ryan sadly turned and started his way back down the steps.

"Hold on a second." Ryan heard a man and turned around.

"I'm the author of this book." The man, who was probably in his mid 30's, said to Ryan.

Ryan smiled "Hi, I'm Ryan. My mom really likes your book. She's read it like a thousand times, and her birthday is next week. So I was hoping you could sign it for her."

The author sat down at a table and motioned for Ryan to sit next to him "What's her name?" the author asked, taking out his pen.

"Brooke." Ryan said, handing the author the book.

The author looked at the book "How long has she had this?" he asked, noticing how old it looked.

"I don't know. A long time I guess." Ryan answered.

The author opened to the front cover of the book and noticed the writing at the bottom of the book. He ran his finger across the writing and sighed, before turning to Ryan and smiling "I'll tell you what your mom might like for her birthday."

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Do you think she'd like to meet me?" the author asked curiously, trying not to sound pushy.

Ryan's face lit up "You'd do that for her? I think she'd love it. She'd love to meet her favorite author."

The author smiled "Okay, there's this nice restauraunt on 76th called Café Boulud. Can you bring her there tomorrow night at 7?"

Ryan nodded "She'll be there. Thanks so much."

The author shook Ryan's hand "I'll sign the book and bring it tomorrow night."

Ryan said goodbye and headed home.

The author opened the front cover after Ryan left and looked at the writing at the bottom of the book:

'_You're gonna do great, Brooke. The world doesn't stand a chance.'_


End file.
